MWC: Qualcomm Confirms Chromebooks Inbound

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is underway in Barcelona and less than 24 hours in, the Chromebook world has much to rejoice about.

Geared mainly towards mobile devices, MWC isn’t normally a news ground for Chrome OS fodder but this year is a monumental exception.

Lenovo took the stage to officially launch three new educational Chromebooks whose release was delayed from the end of January for reasons unknown. Regardless, the debut of their new devices at MWC shows Lenovo’s continued dedication to the Chrome OS platform.

We’re excited to see the new devices and are very happy to see Chromebooks gaining more public attention across the board but what came across my email just a bit ago is something we and many Chrome OS users have been beckoning for about as long as the operating system has existed.

PC Mag reports that mobile chip giant Qualcomm has confirmed they will be putting their processors into upcoming Chromebooks.

Equally as interesting is the statement by Qualcomm’s Product Manager over Windows on Snapdragon, Android tablets and now Chromebooks:

if the Chromebook market stays at sub-$300 [average selling prices] it’s not that interesting to us. What we’re watching closely is when the [average selling prices] start to go above $500.

Monte Giles, product manager Qualcomm

PC Mag points out that there are only two devices (Samsung Pro and Pixelbook) that fit that price range but they may have overlooked the new ASUS Flip C302 Core m7 and Acer C771 not to mention a few other Skylake devices released in the last year and a half.

The average price of a Chromebook still falls slightly below $400 when you toss in all the budget models and EDU devices on the market. Still, there is no shortage of premium models if anyone’s counting.

Giles added that Android tablet sales are in decline and that Qualcomm sees value in the high-end Chrome OS market to be the home for their Snapdragon chips.

Aside from battery life and performance, Snapdragon chips will bring LTE with them wherever they go as it is built into the processors. The latest Acer EDU Chromebook, the C732, is the first LTE-enabled device we’ve seen in quite a while but mobile data could become commonplace now that Qualcomm has finally entered the arena.

Being that development of a Snapdragon Chromebook began just a couple of months ago, it will likely be late 2018 if not later before we see a device in the flesh. Sooner or later, we will get to see a Qualcomm Chromebook and that is exciting news.

About Gabriel Brangers

Lover of all things coffee. Foodie for life. Passionate drummer, hobby guitar player, Web designer and proud Army Veteran. I have come to drink coffee and tell the world of all things Chrome. "Whatever you do, Carpe the heck out of that Diem" - Roman poet, Horace. Slightly paraphrased.